So we rolled through September and reached the long weekend that celebrates Labour Day and, you know, here I am, busily retired (for real; not the way I thought I was a redundancy or two ago). This is the last ‘view from the window’ update. Progress was more obvious during the demolition phase.
Not at the office, I’m trying to walk daily at an hour when I can see where I’m going (as long as it’s not raining or blowing a gale). I’m steadily chipping away at reducing the volume of incoming emails by unsubscribing from professional organisations and removing duplicates that have crept in over the years (when email addresses change, not all earlier variants die, although the technology sometimes does). I’m gleefully signing up to workshops that take place during working hours (genealogical research, here I come, rubbing my hands and sharpening my pencil).
So, yes, it’s all baby steps as YoungB would doubtless describe it. But the good part? If I’ve had enough, I don’t have to keep going 🙂
I hope you’re in a similarly positive frame of mind, whatever your employment status.
Lots of work that I haven’t been there to supervise 😀
We’re being told that the COVID-19 case numbers are dropping; and overall, that does appear to be true. In any case, in the spirit of cooperation and pretending to care, I was at the office one day last week. The work? Yeah, nah, it’s reporting time and busy and, you know, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to muster the energy for any of it. Enthusiasm vanished long ago.
But the view from the window? Aha. That was almost worth the trip into town. I will miss my 13th-floor viewing platform. Since the last update, there’s a lot more to see in that snapshot of the current status of the GPO Renovation. Obviously, they can manage quite well without me!
In terms of managing (or not), it was also a week of colliding responsibilities that nearly defeated me. I tried to shoulder my workload at the office while not dropping the one I have outside of work. That ended with me thinking I’d have to retire NOW and leave the team to the rest of whatever I haven’t been able to tidy up. While that is appealing at one level, it’s not how I would choose to leave any workplace.
Unexpectedly, we had a win on the home front with some long-term appointments confirmed and slotted in. As a result, I’ve negotiated that I’ll continue full-time WFH until I retire, with two days off every week to accommodate the juggling. I’ll take other days off as required. It might not be ideal, but it will mean that everyone is in with a chance of success and – fnigres corsesd, and equally as importantly – that nobody falls over in the meantime.
I hope your juggling is also meeting with success, whatever its nature. 🙂
Being at the office is sometimes a drag and often exhausting, but the view from the window is a nice bonus. I don’t know what’s going to keep the troops occupied once the building is finished. The view to the square will be blocked. There will be no WH&S whoopsies to chuckle about.
Ladders, gents. It’s all about ladders.
May all your ladders be properly supported and your bollards, witches hats and hazard bunting be appropriate and appropriately placed. Can’t have you falling over something you didn’t see 🙂
YoungB’s contract is at an an end, so he’s on the job-hunt. Again. The thing about our recent elections – both state and federal – is that the change of government (at both levels) means that there are opportunities aplenty in different fields, some of which he might find appealing. He’s had his resume professionally tarted up – I beg your pardon; updated – and it’s impressive.
Me? I’ve officially notified the Powers That Be the date on which I’ll be retiring later this year. Leadership at work seems surprised. I don’t know why! My age is no secret. I’ve clearly been suffering work-related aggravations to existing health problems ever since I started there. I’ve made absolutely no secret of my intentions. Why is it suddenly unexpected, and something they hadn’t foreseen? You know that emoji where you smack yourself? Yeah. That seemed about the right response; but I didn’t.
Someone who appreciates why retirement is a good idea asked me what I’m going to do – apart from all the obvious things like crochet and knit, of course – and I said I might cook. She thought that was a wonderful idea. So did I. I like cooking. I would have to shoo Dr B out of the kitchen – it is his domain, after all – but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me elbowing into his space if it means he has more time to do other things. I would bake, too. It would be gratifying to go back to making bread. That was one of my great pleasures that simply disappeared.
Dodgy back and leg notwithstanding, some routine exercise will also feature large. It’s most likely to be continuing the hydro-pool exercise classes that I presently attend. They’re generally kind in terms of both parts of the physique and, because it’s a therapy pool, the water is always wondrously warm. I would be free to join a book club. Or a gardening club. Or a photography group. Or all of the above!
I could once again suss out options for joining local choirs. This time, when they all respond with some version of, “We rehearse and perform during the day, during the week,” thus putting such delights entirely out of full-time worker contention, it wouldn’t matter. I’d have that availability.
I might by then have reached the top of the waiting list for eye surgery, and, postoperatively, be able to see better than ever – really ever, as I’ve been wearing specs pretty much all my life – and then I might be able to reinvigorate my sewing and make some inroads on all those projects that are presently too difficult. Oh, boy. And people wonder if I’ll have enough to do. Smack-yourself emoji again, I think.
Meanwhile, however, there’s a certain amount of excitement and tension around YoungB’s potential new job. There are choices in fields where he has qualifications and expertise, and there are choices in fields that would suit his outgoing personality. There are jobs with crossover. He’s already sent inquiries and job applications. It’s going to be an interesting few months, watching how everything turns out, but he is likely to have some much-needed downtime before starting in any new position, whatever the field.
During that downtime, I anticipate the mealtime conversation will centre on matters mechanical. I’ll be knitting in my room, if you’re looking for me 😀
That would be me on the border of the blanket. When the rounds get this long, you sometimes can’t easily see the progress. You’ve worked steadily for what is a significant chunk of time and you still haven’t finished the next colour!
Their progress isn’t obvious, either
The preparation for the remodelled GPO, however, is a bit the same. It has reached a point where there’s a lot of work – mostly pumping concrete, as far as we can tell when we line up at the window of our 13th floor lookout – but there’s little enough to see for the effort. The concrete is all going into the ground in long pillars of extremely-heavy-duty REO.
I’ll get there, and I’m sure they will, too. It’s not in any way a race, but I reckon I’ll finish first 🙂
We had a team meeting this morning, via video. I used the above image as my background. It’s a view taken from the office window. Today’s weather has not been anything like as cheerful as that, as it’s been very cold and very wet. However, the image created a couple of laughs, perhaps partly because it contrasted so starkly with what was actually outside our windows, so it served its purpose.
You might think I spend all day looking out the office window, rather than sitting at my desk and working. Not true. It is, however, true that, if I hadn’t looked out the window at precisely the right moment the other day, I’d have missed one of the delights of high-rise living: window-cleaners.
Do you have quite such a spectacular view from your office?
As lovely as ever, and almost enough to make the journey worthwhile
On Sunday afternoon, when one of the retail folk to whom I was speaking asked if I was pleased to be going back to work the next day, I answered honestly and said, “No.” But I acknowledged aloud that I’m fortunate enough to have a job and correspondingly grateful. YoungB is back on the job-hunting treadmill, although his contract doesn’t finish till the end of March. But you’re foolish to leave looking for the next job until you finish this one, and – sadly – in today’s climate, foolish to complain about the job you’re in, no matter how merited those complaints might be.
During the downtime, my office’s work systems had a major upgrade, one we’d known was coming. Many personalised settings simply went west and now have to be redone. I’ve had to redo mine three times in two days, as well as move to a different desk. The move was utterly unnecessary, but puts me between two other people instead of quietly at the end of a row. Now I feel a bit as if I’m the naughty child being moved to where the teacher can keep a better eye on me. I always did sit close to the front of the class, but only because I couldn’t see well enough to sit any farther back! Nowadays it doesn’t matter where I sit, the computer is the same distance away.
All the same, the view out the window is still very attractive, and it’s hard to complain when you can rest your eyes on that every now and then. I hope you have something similarly restful for your eyes 🙂
Recently, I worked a few days at the office. The office has not moved but my team has moved within it. Our new location is nearer a window, so the perpetual gloom of which I’ve often complained is no longer a factor. It will take me a little while to learn the rhythm of that location, and to re-learn the rhythm of dealing with buses and people. I’ve been home for such a long time that, genuinely or wilfully, I had forgotten.
I had forgotten how noisy and smelly the main roads are during rush hour. I had forgotten how bumpy the bus ride can be. I had forgotten the homeless, trying to keep warm on these bitter mornings. And I had almost forgotten what fun it is to have YoungB as a travelling companion. He’s almost as full of cheer and silliness as he was in his younger years. We can still have a good giggle together, which helps make the journey more bearable.
The daylight hours have lengthened, as is to be expected at this time of year. I have turned over the last block of months on my perpetual calendar. This is the last third of the year, meaning that Christmas is looming. And you know what will be going up in Victoria Square before you can say Christmas? It will be The Tree. And now that we’ve moved, I have a prime view.
I hope your WFH and/or returns to the office have been better than expected, no matter your general level of forgetfulness 🙂
tingledfangers 